Sometimes serious. Sometimes humorous. Always unpredictable. Welcome to the Airplanista Magazine Blog, where we take a lighthearted look at general and business aviation, the airlines, and the community of aviators I call our aviation family. Produced and edited by pilot and aviation writer Dan Pimentel. Sponsored by Celeste/Daniels Advertising & Design.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Oops, WrongTurn...Boom,You're Dead.

I'm not even sure they have TFRs over in China, and from the looks of their GA community as outlined in this China Daily news report from 2006, they really may not even need them:

"China, which has the second most air traffic in the world, now has 570 general aviation aircraft, 235 more than in 2002."

Wow, they sure must have a mess of big jet planes if they in fact have the "second most air traffic in the world". But as we head into the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, security is being ramped up in China, including a massive amount of airspace protection around the main Olympic venues. Here is a report from the South China Morning Post that ought to scare the hell out of the tiny handful of Chinese GA pilots:

"Beijing has deployed anti-aircraft missiles in the vicinity of the centerpiece Bird's Nest stadium in its latest effort to boost Games security. The move was in line with standard security procedures at other major sports events, said Ma Xin, who advises Games organiser Bocog on anti-terror tactics. Mr Ma declined to reveal the exact model or number of missiles deployed but pictures of a launch pad on the fringe of the Olympic Green – an area covering 2.91 square kilometres that is home to venues like the Bird's Nest and Water Cube – have been posted on many websites. Some have identified the missiles as Hongqi 7, or Redflag 7, a Chinese-made short-range ground-to-air missile designed to intercept low-altitude targets."

Let's just hope you-know-who doesn't see those missile launchers while on his trip to the Opening Ceremonies, because I'd sure hate to see the DHS take a play out of the Chinese Homeland Security playbook.

Ought to be an interesting next few days, as the world peers behind the Chinese curtain and sees just how friendly – or not – a commie government can be when handling the few dissidents and protesters that you just KNOW will show up. There are only two words to describe the way past Chinese authorities have treated those who aren't in lock-step...two words we would all love to forget for the next 16 days:

Tiananmen. Square.

UPDATE@627P ON 08.07.08: Right on cue, the weirdness begins. And if you're going to try and piss off the American press, maybe the fastest way to do that would be to screw with their minds immediately upon touching down in Beijing. Oh, those silly communists, they really know how to stir up the pot.

"Non-flyers will never understand the wonderful sensation a new student pilot feels upon achieving lift for the very first time...SOLO! At that precise moment when your landing gear breaks free from the crust of this troubled planet, a pilot's soul begins to soar. And when your wings win their battle with gravity and the houses get smaller, it is then that we can proudly state that as members of a most elite family of licensed aviators, we are the luckiest SOBs on the face of the Earth" - Av8rdan, 11 December, 2005